Chuck Berry's debut LP is fairly strong musically, as well as having a really cool cover (a still shot of Berry, guitar slung in front of him, from the movie Rock, Rock, Rock!). After School Session was just the second long-player ever issued by Chess -- only the soundtrack to the movie Rock, Rock, Rock! preceded it. This May 1957 release made Berry something of a late-bloomer among rock & roll's foundation performers -- he'd had his first recording session two years earlier, in May of 1955, and by the spring of 1957, {|Bill Haley|} already had a handful of LPs to his credit, {|Elvis Presley|} was gaining on him, and {|Clyde McPhatter|}'s version of {|the Drifters|} was represented on album, with numerous others soon to join their ranks. {|Berry|} had actually enjoyed only two major pop (i.e. rock as opposed to R&B) chart hits at the time: {|"Maybellene"|} in the summer of 1955, and {|"Roll Over Beethoven,"|} which had just made the Top 30 in the summer of 1956. It was {|"School Day,"|} the lead-off track here, that heralded his successful 18-month assault on the Top 40, opening a string of hits that included {|"Rock and Roll Music,"|} {|"Sweet Little Sixteen,"|} {|"Johnny B. Goode,"|} and {|"Carol,"|} and resulted in the release of {|After School Session|} -- the title offers curious multiple meanings, incidentally, intended to attract {|Berry|}'s teen audience in the most innocent of terms (in connection with the {|rock & roll|} cuts), but also subtly invoking more daring "extra-curricular" activity in its {|blues|} and {|ballads|}, and older, post-teen concerns. In those days, as a policy, {|Chess|}' {|rock & roll|} and {|blues|} LPs were comprised of previously existing single sides, and, thus, beyond the current single, the songs leap wildly across different sounds and styles -- impromptu {|blues|} ({|"Deep Feeling"|}), and {|dance|} ({|"Roly Poly,"|} {|"Berry Pickin'"|}), instrumentals are interspersed with a trio of {|rock & roll|} jewels, {|"Too Much Monkey Business"|} and {|"No Money Down,"|} with their accents on the joys and textures of teenage life, which somehow didn't catch on among mainstream listeners as singles, and the piercing, provocative {|"Brown Eyed Handsome Man,"|} which showed how easily {|Berry|} could broach sensitive or provocative material if it were masked by a hot enough beat and loud enough guitar, bass, and drums; and we take detours into {|blues|} ({|"Wee Wee Hours,"|} {|"Downbound Train"|}), {|ballads|} ({|"Together (We'll Always Be),"|} {|"Drifting Heart"|}), and even {|calypso|} music ({|"Havana Moon"|}). All of it was recorded in four separate sessions spread across almost two years; the {|rock & roll|} numbers and the guitar-driven instrumentals out-class most of the {|blues|} and {|ballads|}, but there's nothing here that could be classed as "filler," either -- a lot of {|British Invasion|} bands wore out copies of these same sides learning their basic repertory, and domestic roots rockers could have done worse than to listen to {|"Downbound Train"|} or {|"No Money Down."|} ~ Bruce Eder
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The Autobiography of a Super-tramp
Chuck Berry's debut LP is fairly strong musically, as well as having a really cool cover (a still shot of Berry, guitar slung in front of him, from the movie Rock, Rock, Rock!). After School Session was just the second long-player ever issued by Chess -- only the soundtrack to the movie Rock, Rock, Rock! preceded it. This May 1957 release made Berry something of a late-bloomer among rock & roll's foundation performers -- he'd had his first recording session two years earlier, in May of 1955, and by the spring of 1957, {|Bill Haley|} already had a handful of LPs to his credit, {|Elvis Presley|} was gaining on him, and {|Clyde McPhatter|}'s version of {|the Drifters|} was represented on album, with numerous others soon to join their ranks. {|Berry|} had actually enjoyed only two major pop (i.e. rock as opposed to R&B) chart hits at the time: {|"Maybellene"|} in the summer of 1955, and {|"Roll Over Beethoven,"|} which had just made the Top 30 in the summer of 1956. It was {|"School Day,"|} the lead-off track here, that heralded his successful 18-month assault on the Top 40, opening a string of hits that included {|"Rock and Roll Music,"|} {|"Sweet Little Sixteen,"|} {|"Johnny B. Goode,"|} and {|"Carol,"|} and resulted in the release of {|After School Session|} -- the title offers curious multiple meanings, incidentally, intended to attract {|Berry|}'s teen audience in the most innocent of terms (in connection with the {|rock & roll|} cuts), but also subtly invoking more daring "extra-curricular" activity in its {|blues|} and {|ballads|}, and older, post-teen concerns. In those days, as a policy, {|Chess|}' {|rock & roll|} and {|blues|} LPs were comprised of previously existing single sides, and, thus, beyond the current single, the songs leap wildly across different sounds and styles -- impromptu {|blues|} ({|"Deep Feeling"|}), and {|dance|} ({|"Roly Poly,"|} {|"Berry Pickin'"|}), instrumentals are interspersed with a trio of {|rock & roll|} jewels, {|"Too Much Monkey Business"|} and {|"No Money Down,"|} with their accents on the joys and textures of teenage life, which somehow didn't catch on among mainstream listeners as singles, and the piercing, provocative {|"Brown Eyed Handsome Man,"|} which showed how easily {|Berry|} could broach sensitive or provocative material if it were masked by a hot enough beat and loud enough guitar, bass, and drums; and we take detours into {|blues|} ({|"Wee Wee Hours,"|} {|"Downbound Train"|}), {|ballads|} ({|"Together (We'll Always Be),"|} {|"Drifting Heart"|}), and even {|calypso|} music ({|"Havana Moon"|}). All of it was recorded in four separate sessions spread across almost two years; the {|rock & roll|} numbers and the guitar-driven instrumentals out-class most of the {|blues|} and {|ballads|}, but there's nothing here that could be classed as "filler," either -- a lot of {|British Invasion|} bands wore out copies of these same sides learning their basic repertory, and domestic roots rockers could have done worse than to listen to {|"Downbound Train"|} or {|"No Money Down."|} ~ Bruce Eder
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The Autobiography of a Super-tramp
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The Autobiography of a Super-tramp
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781908946072 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Parthian Books |
| Publication date: | 08/01/2013 |
| Series: | Library of Wales |
| Edition description: | Revised ed. |
| Pages: | 300 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d) |
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